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Ergoscopia Project: Another Step Forward

11 Jul 2013

The 32th National Congress of the Italian Hospital Surgeons (ACOI) was held from 22nd to 24th May in Florence.

Surrounded by suggesting walls of the Salone dei Cinquecento, the most important room of the Palazzo Vecchio, Faentia Consulting and the Group of Italian Surgeons presented the project "Progetto Ergoscopia" and its latest goals.

The report "The welfare of surgeons: ergonomics in laparoscopic surgery" has been held by Ing. Giovanni Miranda and Doc. Egidio Miranda and focused on some severe observations which highlighted many problems — some really unexpected for non-experts — within healthcare organizations. Among the critical aspects it has been emphasized the need for better internal communication and the need to create additional training in order to develop the non-technical skills which are very fundamental requirement for every surgeon (for example how to manage crew dynamics, emergencies and human error).

"Wellness is the condition perceived by the surgeon when it interacts with other system components as required to minimize possible discomfort, fatigue and psychological stress through the application of ergonomic principles."

The challenge for twenty-first century's Surgery is pretty hard. Economic sustainability — which is always required to ensure effectiveness and efficiency and which should never deviate from qualitative sustainability —must take the main place in every Statal Health System. Ing. Miranda also suggested to revise training lessons, in order to focus more on involving the entire medical crew: doctors, nurses, technical and health care staff, etc.

Furthermore new hospital models should be defined and rather base on cross-integrating various disciplines, managing different levels of therapy intensity, continuous training, working out the simulation of surgeries and better defining the different levels of responsibility for every person. Likewise Aerospace Engineering and Industrial worlds, even Ergonomics — meant in its broader definition: Organizational, Biomechanical, Anthropometric and Cognitive-Sensory areas — is the right tool to reach the very definition of a more sustainable Surgery, which can simultaneously ensure the well-being of the patient and the surgeon as well as the optimization of the entire system.